Apple’s HomeView can recognize who’s standing in front of it, but it doesn’t use Face ID. Instead, it relies on your iPhone or iPad to confirm your identity.
Apple representatives explained the process to John Gruber at Daring Fireball, shedding more light on how the smart display works. The details are worth knowing if you pre-ordered HomeView in Canada today, following weeks of leaks about its home controls. HomeView runs Siri AI, the same assistant coming to the new Apple TV 4K.
For HomeView to recognize your face or voice, you need a registered iPhone or iPad that supports Apple Intelligence and Siri AI. The device must be connected to your home Wi-Fi and must have been unlocked recently.
So that means the oldest compatible iPhones are the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, along with all iPhone 16 models and newer. The regular iPhone 15 and older models don’t support Apple Intelligence.
An Apple Watch won’t work, since Apple’s fine print specifically requires an Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhone or iPad. Gruber describes the phone as a second factor, with HomeView’s camera handling the initial recognition.
Apple considers the home a relatively safe environment, which helps explain its approach. HomeView can recognize up to six household members, automatically switching between their Home Screens and personal content. But of course, if your family doesn’t have the newest iPhones that support Apple Intelligence? Then HomeView won’t recognize them. In that case, just upgrade your iPhones, right!
Apple’s fine print also confirms Siri AI won’t initially be available on iPhones or iPads in the EU. Since HomeView relies on a compatible Siri AI device, that effectively rules out a launch there for now.
Canada, meanwhile, is among eight countries getting HomeView at launch on November 13. Both the tabletop and wall-mounted models cost $429 CAD, compared to $299 in the US. Surprisingly, Apple is basically using a straight up exchange rate and not hedging, as $299 US works out to about $424.89 as of writing. So $429 CAD means there’s not a huge exchange rate markup for Canadians.
Siri AI will support English in Canada at launch, with Canadian French coming in a later update.
Are you okay with HomeView needing your iPhone nearby to know who you are?
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